Could Jackson case turn on weirdness?

Both sides bank on oddity of pop star, accuser’s mom

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Michael Jackson’s attorneys tried to make their client’s oddity an asset during his molestation trial, at one point playing a video in which Jackson spoke of his desire to hold a party for animal celebrities.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — The jury deliberating the fate of Michael Jackson may have to decide who’s weirder: Jackson or the mother of his accuser.

Much of Jackson’s defense came down to trying to prove the mother was the winner of the strange contest — even though Jackson’s eccentricities long ago earned him the tabloid tag “Wacko Jacko.” His 2003 admission that he shared his bed with children — non-sexually, he explained — didn’t do much to mitigate that notion.

His lawyers tried to make their client look sympathetic by portraying the mother of his accuser as more out of touch with social norms than he is.

Was his hobby of spending weeks with children creepier than her habit of sucking up to celebrities? Was his insistence that there was nothing wrong with letting children in his bed odder than her habit of saying near-strangers were like family?

Is weirdness relevent?Trial analyst Ann Bremner, a former prosecutor, was at a loss when asked if Jackson or the mother came off looking stranger to jurors.

“Boy,” she said. “That’s a contest.”

The 46-year-old singer is charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy in February or March 2003. He is accused of plying him with wine and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut damaging aspects of the documentary “Living With Michael Jackson,” in which Jackson appeared holding hands with the boy as he talked of allowing children into his bed for what he said were innocent sleepovers.

The jury received the case Friday afternoon and deliberated for about two hours before adjourning for the weekend.

Defense attorneys ran a risk by focusing on the mother’s oddities, Bremner said, explaining that her behavior — and even alleged history of fraud — didn’t really relate to whether Jackson had molested her child.

“In a lot of ways she’s ancillary,” Bremner said. “The sins of the mother — do they stick to the son? There has not been a lot of evidence that he would lie at the behest of his mother.”

Prosecutors suggested that Jackson’s behavior was not only weird but criminal, arguing that sleepovers turned into molestations.

The defense tried to paint the mother as criminally odd as well, arguing that she smothered celebrities with affection to con them. One defense witness testified that the mother also fraudulently underreported income on a welfare application.

Oddity as an asset
Jackson’s attorneys tried to make their client’s oddity an asset. In his closing statement, lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. played excerpts of an interview with Jackson to suggest that he was anything but a criminal mastermind.

In the wide-ranging interview, Jackson described writing songs in his “giving tree,” his dream of a holiday for children and his desire to hold a party for animal celebrities, including Cheetah from the Tarzan movies and Lassie.

“Does he look like the kind of person who is even capable of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy of this magnitude?” Mesereau asked.

In another video seen during the trial, Jackson was shown holding his infant son over a balcony and claiming to have had only two plastic surgeries, both on his nose.

Prosecutors tried to prop up the mother’s testimony with outside corroboration. After she said she feared Jackson’s people would hurt her parents and boyfriend, prosecutors presented surveillance tapes of them found in the office of a private investigator who worked for former Jackson attorney Mark Geragos.

Cuts both waysThey also seized on the mother’s erratic behavior on the witness stand to suggest that she couldn’t possibly have orchestrated false allegations against Jackson.

The mother “frankly can’t string two consecutive sentences together that make sense,” prosecutor Ron Zonen said.

The woman repeatedly ignored the typical rules of courtroom decorum by directly addressing jurors, telling them that Jackson’s attorney was being unfair or dishonest. She even spoke to reporters covering the trial at one point, saying she had once thought ill of them but now considered them good people.

She said she once feared Jackson’s posse of associates would make her and her family disappear in a balloon.

Another trial analyst, defense attorney Ivan Golde, said he was surprised prosecutors would bring a case against Jackson based on testimony from such flawed witnesses.

“The D.A. wanted to get Michael Jackson, so he went along with this witness who’s got all this baggage,” Golde said.

Little boy Michael

Michael Jackson was just 12 when this picture was taken in May 1971, but his career was already stratospheric. Berry Gordy had signed the Jackson 5 to Motown Records in 1968, and Michael and his brothers had already topped the charts with "ABC" and "I'll Be There." It was a bright start for the boy from Gary, Ind.
(Henry Diltz / Corbis)
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Signs of success

Michael Jackson, far left, and the rest of the Jackson Five in 1972. The five brothers from Indiana were signed to Berry Gordy's Motown record label.
(Frank Barratt / Getty Images file)
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All in the family

The Jackson 5 perform in Los Angeles on a 1970s Bob Hope TV special. Michael continued to front the band, but his solo career was already on the rise, starting with 1971's "Got to Be There."
(Neal Preston / Corbis)
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A wonderful Wiz

Michael Jackson at the opening of "The Wiz." The 1978 movie musical was the first time the pop star worked with legendary producer Quincy Jones, who would soon produce Jackson's breakout solo album "Off the Wall," and eventually the "Thriller" album as well. Jackson's "Wiz" co-star was friend and mentor Diana Ross, who had introduced the world to the Jackson 5 back in 1969.

Wanna be startin' somethin'?

Michael Jackson performs in concert during a 1981 tour with his brothers. During the tour, Michael began writing down ideas for a solo project that blossomed into the highest selling album of all time.

A mentor

Michael Jackson and Diana Ross hold their American Music Awards in L.A. Jackson won for favorite soul album and Ross won for favorite female soul vocalist.
(Juynh / AP)
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Fright night

Michael Jackson stands with a group of dancers dressed as zombies while filming his 1983 video "Thriller." "Thriller" was revolutionary in the music industry. The zombie-themed minimovie put MTV on the map and essentially confirmed music videos as an art form of their own. The album sold 25 million copies in the United States alone.

Moment of stardom

Michael Jackson performs the moonwalk during "Billie Jean" for the first time on television's "Motown 25," a tribute to Berry Gordy. The dance move that would become Michael's trademark stunned viewers and the crowd, and marked his imminent crowning as the King of Pop.

Handfuls of glory

With Quincy Jones at his side, Michael Jackson holds six of the eight awards he won for "Thriller" at the 1984 Grammy Awards. His outfit, complete with epaulets, sequined glove and dark shades, became a quintessential Michael look.
(AP)
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Role model

During a May 1984 ceremony at the White House, Michael Jackson accepts a Presidential Award from President Reagan as first lady Nancy Reagan looks on. Jackson was honored as a model for American youth, and for lending his hit song "Beat It" to a new campaign against drunk driving.
(Bettmann / Corbis)
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A scary day

Michael Jackson, background, is seen with his hair on fire during a taping of a Pepsi TV commercial in Los Angeles on February 1984 as brother Jermaine Jackson, foreground, continues to perform, apparently unaware of the situation.
(AP)
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Gloved love

In a newly released image, Michael Jackson is seen visiting burn victim Keith Perry in the burn center at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, Calif., on Feb. 4, 1984. The pop star was recuperating in the hospital after suffering from a burn to his head while filming a commercial for Pepsi-Cola.
(Carl Arrington / Getty Images)
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Crowd control

They were the world

In January 1985, a who's who of the music and movie worlds came together to sing "We Are the World," written to benefit famine victims in Ethiopia. Michael Jackson can be seen front and center, along with Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and dozens of other stars. Michael's sister Janet can be seen bottom right.
(Bettmann / Corbis)
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Victory lap

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen, left, makes a July 1984 guest appearance during Michael Jackson's Victory Tour concert in Irving, Texas. Van Halen had recorded the now immortal guitar riff on "Beat It," to the displeasure of bandmate David Lee Roth, but to the delight of nearly everyone else.

Who's bad?

Michael Jackson and his dancers in concert during a 1987 Tokyo concert on Jackson's "Bad" tour. The previous year, he had starred in the 3-D film "Captain EO," one of the most expensive short films ever. But Jackson had begun to draw more criticism as his albums and videos grew costlier and more infrequent. His next album, "Dangerous," wouldn't arrive until 1991.
(Neal Preston / Corbis)
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A difficult year

A cameraman photographs Michael Jackson and Oprah Winfrey in January 1993. This was the year Jackson was first accused of child molestation, and he took an opportunity on a 90-minute Oprah TV special to address the charges. The criminal allegations eventually were dropped, but Jackson reportedly paid as much as $25 million to settle the claims.
(Neal Preston / Corbis)
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Black and white
at the Super Bowl

Michael Jackson gives a performance with 30,000 children during the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show on Jan. 31, 1993, in Pasadena, Calif. Despite allegations against him, Jackson's career had regained momentum with hits such as "Black or White" and "Remember the Time," and the "Dangerous" album was a multiplatinum seller.
(Ralf-Finn Hestoft / Corbis)
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Clowning around

Michael Jackson and French mime Marcel Marceau clowning for the cameras at the Beacon Theatre in New York on Dec. 4, 1995.
(Bob Strong / AFP - Getty Images)
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Power marriage

Michael Jackson and then wife Lisa Marie Presley are seen at Neverland Ranch in preparation of the Children's World Summit in April 1995. Presley would file for divorce less than a year later, prompting speculation about just what had inspired the relationship.
(Steve Starr / Corbis)
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Golden man

Michael Jackson performs on stage during his "HIStory" world tour concert at Ericsson Stadium in November 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand.
(Phil Walter / Getty Images)
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Marriage 2.0

Just months after his divorce from Lisa Marie, Michael Jackson walked down the aisle with Debbie Rowe. This wedding photo was released by Jackson's publicist minutes after the Nov. 13, 1996, ceremony in Sydney, Australia. But the pairing was less about romance and more about bearing Jackson a child, and the two would divorce three years later, with Rowe eventually ceding parental rights to Jackson.

Best of friends

Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor arrive at a Sept. 7, 2001, concert celebrating the 30 years of Jackson's career. The two stars had been longtime friends, and Taylor is godmother to two of Michael's children.
(Jeff Christensen / Reuters / Corbis)
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Sharing his testimony

Michael Jackson testifies on Nov. 13, 2002 in Santa Maria, Calif. Superior Court in a trial in which he is accused of cancelling concert appearances, costing the promoter several million dollars.
(- / AFP - Getty Images)
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Not so invincible

Michael Jackson poses for photographers during a November 2001 appearance in New York's Times Square. Jackson made his first ever in-store appearance to promote his new album "Invincible," which was released Oct. 30. "Invincible," at the time the most expensive album ever produced, fared better with critics and fans than 1995's "HIStory," but questions began to surface about the future of Jackson's career.
(Brad Rickerby / Reuters/Corbis)
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One big mistake

Michael Jackson holds a towel-covered Prince Michael II over the balcony of a Berlin hotel on Nov. 19, 2002. Jackson later called the incident a "terrible mistake," but the image of him dangling his baby son out a window shocked even many die-hard fans. And his reputation was to receive far worse damage just a few months later.

Arresting development

Michael Jackson is pictured in this Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department mug shot from Nov. 20, 2003. In a February 2003 documentary, Jackson acknowledged letting boys sleep in his bed. Soon after, Santa Barbara district attorney Tom Sneddon launched a probe into allegations that Jackson had molested a teen boy who appeared in the program. Authorities raided Neverland Ranch in November, and Jackson surrended for arrest days later.

Family support

Michael, center, and sisters LaToya, left and Janet Jackson walk over to greet fans during a lunch break at a pretrial hearing in Santa Maria, Calif., in this Aug. 16, 2004, file photo.
(Pool / Reuters)
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MJ's PJs

Michael Jackson wears pajama pants and is aided by bodyguards after arriving more than an hour late to court on Mar. 10, 2005, during his trial on the 2003 molestation charges. Jackson appeared after Judge Rodney Melville threatened to revoke his bail.
(Kimberly White / pool via Reuters)
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Singin' with the kids

Michael Jackson sings with some of his young fans at the World Music Awards at Earls Court in London on Nov. 16, 2006.
(Graham Jepson / WireImage)
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Fans in uniform

Michael Jackson receives a letter of appreciation from Col. Robert M. Waltemeyer, the garrison commander of Camp Zama, on March 10, 2007, in Zama, Japan. Michael greeted thousands of U.S. troops and their family members at the U.S. Army base.
(U.S. Army via Getty Images)
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Father figure

Michael Jackson walks with kids Prince and Paris through a studio parking lot in Los Angeles in March 2009. The singer had been spotted with his entourage going to a studio on a cold rainy day in the city. The pop star stayed at the studio for more than two hours, and there were many production people working around him, suggesting that the star was filming.
(Splash News / Splash News)
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Concert tour planned

Fans take pictures of an electronic screen projecting a press conference by Michael Jackson at the O2 arena in London on March 5, 2009. The pop megastar announced he would play a series of comeback concerts in London in July, his first major shows in more than a decade.
(Ben Stansall / AFP-Getty Images)
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Reaching for redemption

Jackson, center, is shown in Los Angeles on May 6 during rehearsals for his planned concert tour in London.
(Courtesy of Michael Jackson via AP)
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Happy to perform

In this handout photo provided by AEG, Jackson rehearses for his planned shows in London at the Staples Center on Tuesday, June 23, in Los Angeles. It's a tragic loss — and an accounting nightmare for the promoters of Jackson's doomed 50-night "This Is It" concert extravaganza. More than 750,000 fans are waiting for details on ticket refunds, and the British government's consumer protection board told them June 29 not to hold their breath -- complex legal issues need to be worked out first.
(Kevin Mazur / AEG via Getty Images)
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All the world's a stage

"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit," Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said of Jackson, shown rehearsing in Los Angeles on June 23. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light."